Packages, such as boxes, have been proposed heretofore for carrying and dispensing individual objects from a quantity of loose objects one at a time through an opening in the package.
With regard to packages for carrying objects comprising pharmaceutical agents, such as chewing gums comprising nicotine, it is of great importance to have a tamper-evident opening. In this way, the consumer, and buyer of the package, will know that the content has not been manipulated since packaging, and that the right amount of objects is present in the package.
Prior art packages have used openings created by the breakage of indicative score lines, such as perforations, for this purpose, such that the breakage of the score line will result in the creation of a non-reversible opening in the package. In this way, tamper evidence has been assured.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,632 discloses a dispensing carton with a top closure panel hingedly connected to the front wall of the carton. The top closure panel has a tab tacked into sealing engagement with the edge of the bottom panel surrounding the dispensing opening. The top closure panel has lateral panels extending into the interior of the carton. The dispensing opening is resealed by returning the top closure panel back into abutting engagement with the bottom panel. However, the dispensing opening of the dispensing carton disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,632 must be placed adjacent the edge of the top closure panel and the bottom panel to ensure that objects to be dispensed do not get stuck in the angle between the bottom panel and the front or back wall. Also, it is difficult to control the number of objects dispensed, since the front or back wall fully coincides with the edge of the dispensing opening, thus not allowing for gradual dispensing action.
International patent application WO 2006/131830 discloses a rigid packet for loose tablet-type sweets and chewing gums, composed of an outer casing and an inner casing with a small opening, wherein the inner casing is slidably arranged in the outer casing. Thus, the packet can shift between an open configuration and a closed configuration, wherein the opening is concealed by the outer casing. However, the rigid packet disclosed in WO 2006/131830 is provided with an opening wherein loose objects tend to get stuck in the angle between the bottom panel and the front or back wall. Also, it is difficult to control the number of objects dispensed, since the front or back wall fully coincides with the edge of the dispensing opening, thus not allowing for gradual dispensing action. Furthermore, the rigid package in WO 2006/131830 does not have a tamper evident opening.
Thus, there is a need for a novel box for containing and dispensing a quantity of loose objects, such as chewing gums, lozenges, tablets, sweets etc. More particularly, there is a need for a new opening arrangement for such a box, enclosing a chamber for carrying a quantity of loose objects, allowing for tamper evidence, while simultaneously allowing for the placement of a dispensing opening on parts of the side, top, bottom, front, or back wall other than adjacent an edge between two of these walls without risking that objects get stuck in an angle there between, and allowing for gradual dispensing of the objects.